Please EXCUSE ( I should have said PARDON but the cost of pardons is reputed to be escalating)this very belated post to your responses, but I have, perforce, been otherwise engaged in the Real World. It's good to be back. Allow me to offer a general word of thanks to all and some specific replies to Qs and comments.

First, thanks for answering my basic question about "rules". If there had been rules, I wanted to know about them and respect them. Since there seem to be few - and these loosely defined, I shall, as you advised, plough ahead lexlessly and recklessly, and then await your further guidance in whatever form. I hasten to assure that my skin, seasoned elsewhere over some several decades, is the envy of many a battle-scarred old rhino. Ergo, "lay on, McDuff, and damned' be he(she) who first ..."etc. and I shall accordingly feel free to fire off to the E-postles similarly appropriate E-posts and E-pistles of my own. Next to some specific responses. ----------------------------------------------------------(b)To WWH re: Scribbler,fire at will, but not Will(/b)Note I do not think the BOLD is working. must be doing it wrong!No, Dr. Will, I WILL not fire at you. I do hope, however, that you and the others are straight about the concern over the souls of the torpedoes. ILIU (I looked It Up, to be sure.)Admiral Farragut, at Mobile Bay (in the 1860s) said "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Years later, Adm. Dewey, entering Manila Bay, undoubtedly said Something but history records no damning of torpedoes. FYI the torpedoes in question were not the self-propelled projectiles used by submarines of WWI and WWII, but were rather mines anchored out of sight slightly below the surface of the water.---------------------------------------------------------- To TSUM1.Did Scribbler read this? A. Yes, quite obviously.2. FYI, Your Worthiness, I receive a daily Wordsworth of entertainment from WWFTD and find that the quotidian offerings of WWFTD are always interesting,often magnisonant and sometimes even useful. Thank You!#. What is "IOW"? A. My guess is that it means "In Other Words". It seems a useful shortcut. As for my "guesses",however, please note that, until set straight by the Board, I had "guessed", from the context, that YART meant "You Already Read This??" Close enough, but no cigar.4. Q. "Shall we never find Thee out?" CAREL A. "For everything there is a time, a time to ...etc." Eccles.------------------------------------------------------------An Epistolary note to Mr. Bingley (On an un-related topic)-----------------------------------------------------------My dear Mr. Bingley, Am I mistaken, dear Sir, or do I have the honor of addressing ...... eh, that is to say that, certain evidence suggests .. implies .... Damme, Sir, if , in fact you are he who married .. When was it??? Merciful God! Could it have been, in the wicked warp of Time, two CENTURIES ago? ... Ah, well ... At all events, dear Sir, I beg pardon for this breach of civility, this undue familiarity, but if you ARE he who took to wife Jane B___, then pray convey to her AND to her dearest sister Lizzy, (Is she yet - and forever!- Lady D__?)the most delightful, high spirited creature who ever graced ... Enough! Enough! A word from you, post restante,and all will be known. For now, dear Sir, believe me to be .... Yrs most sincerely & etc. Scribbler------------------------------------------------------------- Without seeking to be complete, I close w/ a scattering of thanks to new friends- To Priest and High Priestess, to Mlle Bel and Cara Dea,to His Worthiness and the Captain, Max, Geoff and Alex (behind you, Alex!), to Jo, Jackie & TEd, to Marty, Dr. Will and Splckr and, not least, to Sparteye and to Sparta (Spartan was she ere she saw Troy ) You can, of course,take the girl out of the country, but you cannot take the country.... etc and speaking of Troy,(and Grecian Marathons) "Are these the hips that faced a thousand haunches, and toppled the topless towers of .... ANZAC?" Scribbler, on advice of friends, ploughs ahead fearlessy and awaits further guidance. Proofed and Mutatis mutandis (Unless the Spelchecker screws it up!)

Dear Scribbler: Ordinarily I avoid ethanol, but I envy you the beverage that so delightfully loosens your tongue, propels your pen, and presses the the keys of your keyboard to such pleasant effect.wwh

Thank you for raising the issue. We have known for some time that Mr Bingley is the very same person as the subject of your screed. Fortunately, he was an early recipient of crygenics. He was meant to be fully defrosted in 2001 to co-incide with the re-release of Mr Kubrick's film. Unfortunately some of the instructions were lost in transit to Indonesia and the date was mis-read, so he was thawed a year too early and he is feeling a little green around the gills but then, sic transit gloria mundi. He has asked that his true identity be kept secret from the rest of the world as he is worried about the consequent press coverage and invasion of his privacy. So please do not let this discussion leave the privacy of AWAD, his "safe house" for the present. AnnaStrophic, a highly trained agent, has been given special orders to dispose of anyone who lets the secret out so do not underestimate this instruction!

Dear Scribbler,I have come but lately to this thread, which only now have I read in its entirety. I missed, therefore, any earlier opportunity to welcome you to this motley - though noble - companionship. I would, you may rest assured, have done so without reservation had that opportunity availed. But, having perused your latest missive, may I add, to whatever belated welcome I may offer, my admiration for your perspicacity, erudition and wit. You are, Sir, without doubt, an acquisition to this board for which we may all rejoice and to which we may look forward in eager anticipation to your continued intelectual additions to our mutual adumbrations.

My sister-in-law, whose whereabouts is also being concealed from the curious eyes of the World, presents her best compliments. She desires me to express a sense of her utmost gratitude that her childish effusions should meet with the approbation of so discriminating a taste as Mr. Scribbler's.

My dear Mr. Bingley, Allow me to say, Sir, that you are Kindness itself. You cannot know with what pleasure your most welcome letter was received. I awakened to a cold, bleak dawn. Your epistle brought with it rays of sunshine dispelling - somewhat! - the gloom of the State of Grace-lessness that - res miserabilis - has become LIFE! in the 21st Century. The step of Scribbler, burdened by years, somehow attained a certain spring. But I ungraciously impose upon your time and privacy. So - enough for now. Pray accept for yourself, and pass on to your good lady -and, as well, to The Others! - the heartfelt compliments of your Correspondent. If, in the fullness of Time, you would do me the honor, tempe de tempe, of sending me a line, I assure you, dear Sir, that any such would be most gratefully appreciated by - may I so boldly presume? - Your friend, Scribbler

As the curtain opens, Scribbler is standing, upstage right, talking, in mid sentence, His voice is soft, broad vowels stretched a bit too long, his final consonants are soft, Southern,and almost imperceptible. He is a tall man, about --but let's see what he is saying - -

SCRIBBLER: I'm sure glad to see all off you folks from the AWAD Board here tonight. And special thanks to you,Jackie, for all of those nice things you said to me. That was a long list, but I'm glad you left out "Trustworthy, Loyal, Brave, Clean, and Reverent" or the Boy Scouts mighta tried to take me back to see if I coulda moved up from Second Class Scout. Well, as I tol' y'all a minit ago, I gotta go backstage to see if I can help.

Exit - downstage right. House lights blink twice, then remain off. Noises off. A rustle of papers - a clearing of a throat. No one is onstage, but there is a Voice heard from offstage. Is it Scribbler's? Surely it is, but different, richer, fuller. A theatre voice, a radio voice without trace of a regional accent. Listen --

Voice: And Jackie, my dear, I did so very much admire those clever things you said in your response to Alex Williams's Reintarnation post of 1/29. Such wit- Such verve - Bravo! That Reintarnation schtick looks like so much fun that I think that I shall have a new run at it. But if I do, or when I do, it will only be in imitation of your talent. You know they say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," but Oscar Wilde, the consummate epigrammist, refined the phrase to its essence. "Imitation," said the genius Mr. Wilde, "is the Tribute that Mediocrity pays to Genius." Those words always sit very close to my Scribbling heart as a constant reminder, when, as Reader, I read the works of authors I admire. In consequence of all of which, Dear Lady,permit me to dedicate, as Tribute to your inspiring Genius, my future Reintarnation(Newlogism) post to you. Know that I am, and shall remain, ever your ....

Mediocrity (and, as well, Scribbler)

All is quiet. House lights go up. The crowd begins to shuffle out. Then another Voice from ... Somewhere?.. An old, creaking, high-pitched voice, British or perhaps -- "Carry on, old chap, and the Luck O' the Irish to you. Remember, you have promises to keep and reams to write before you sleep."

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